Chris Ames is a writer from California, who now lives in Melbourne. He is the 2025 winner of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. And we now are the beneficiaries as we discover his short story collection I Made This Just For You.

Christy Anne Jones is an author, illustrator and content creator. Her debut novel is Theodora’s Tea Shop

Mirandi Riwoe is the author of Sunbirds, The Fish Girl, and Stone Sky Gold Mountain, which won the Queensland Literary Award – Fiction Book Award and the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.  Mirandi joins us with her new novel A Short History of Longans

Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese diaspora author, screenwriter and award-winning social advocate. Yassmin has joined us on Final Draft in the past discussing her essays in Talking About a Revolution and her children’s novel Listen Layla. Today she is joining us with her literary fiction debut, At Sea. 

Ilka Tampke is an award-winning author, academic and teacher. Her first two novels, Skin and Songwoman explore the druidic culture of Ancient Britain and its disruption by Roman colonisation. Ilka joins us with her latest novel How to Love the World

Katherine Johnson is the author of five novels including Matryoshka and Paris Savages. Katherine’s latest Every Wild Soul is the inaugural winner of The Australian Fiction Prize and Katherine is joining us to discuss today.

Johanna is an award winning author of fiction, poetry and children’s books. She’s joining us today with her new novel Department of the Vanishing which won the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript.

Zainab has spent her life on oil rigs living the fly in fly out life. It’s meant missing out on a lot, including a relationship with her sister. Now she’s in Perth on a promise that she will see her sister through the birth of her first child. This could finally be the chance to repair their relationship. When Zainab’s boss Bryce calls her back from leave to investigate strange goings on on the rig Clarissa Clyde, she knows this could be her big break.

​​Mary Colussi’s debut novel Touch Grass won the 2025 Penguin Literary Prize.

​Charlotte McConaghy is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the novels Wild Dark Shore, Once There Were Wolves, and Migrations.

When the lights appear on the first night of summer Hobart is abuzz. Locals and paranormal pundits alike agree, it’s shaping up to be a good season.

Antoun Issa is a Lebanese-Australian journalist and co-founder of Deepcut News.

Shearwater Island has a dark history. Pillaged for its natural resources, the island saw the massacre of hundreds of thousands of whales, seals and penguins to prop up the energy needs of industrialising countries. Since those dark days the island has become a miracle of environmental renewal only to see itself threatened again by rising sea levels that could see it vanish forever. 

Melissa Manning’s debut story collection, Smokehouse, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction. Melissa joins us today with her new novel Frogsong.

Sam Elliott is a writer and podcaster. He’s the host of ‘The Write Way’, and joins us today with his debut novel Haze.

Emily has worked in the children’s book industry for over 25 years. Her writing includes I Am Out With Lanterns (2018), Elsewhere Girls (2021) and Outlaw Girls (2024).  Emily is joining us with her new novel The Wild Unknown

Brendan Colley’s first novel The Signal Line won the Unpublished Manuscript Prize in the 2019 Tasmanian Premier’s Literary Awards, and was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and The Age Book of the Year. Today Brendan joins us with his new novel The Season for Flying Saucers.

Alan Fyfe is a maker of stories and poems who lives on unceded Noongar country. Alan’s joining us today with his new novel The Cross Thieves

Four Aboriginal boys growing up together on the same street in a coastal village. It’s a ready made friendship group. Fast forward eight years and the boys are staring down the end of high school. Kallum’s been expelled from his fancy Sydney boarding school and lost his football scholarship. Jordy’s happier since he’s come out but that doesn’t mean his whole life is easy. Dylan’s struggling. He was the only witness when Brandon was shot and killed by police. He’s missing his mate and scared to death of what it might mean if he testifies.